Title: The Yes Men Fix the World Director: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, and Kurt Engfehr Release year: 2009
What is the central argument or narrative of the film?
The narrative of this film is about how directors Bichlbaum and Bonanno use humor to get out information about important problems in our society. They call themselves the Yes Men and they do things like pose as head executives of corporations that they hate and try to launch absurd products or make false headlines that put companies in a difficult situation. They go so far as to create fake websites and credentials with their personas to make people believe they are legitimate. Bichlbaum and Bonanno want to tell the truth and expose lies. These bold actions bring attention to issues that people don’t often hear about in the news. However, their methods are considered by some to be deceitful and extreme. In this film the Yes Men address issues including chemical spills, the need for alternative fuels, and how absurd some corporate proposals can be.
How is the argument or narrative made and sustained? How much scientific information is provided, for example? Does the film have emotional appeal?
The narrative of this film is made by following the Yes Men as they seek out opportunities to give presentations or be interviewed as false representatives of large companies. Bichlbaum poses as a spokesperson for Dow Chemical and does an interview in which he states that the company accepts full responsibility for the Bhopal disaster. Dow had a few choice words for him, but the company had to come forward and deny these optimistic claims, which emphasized their lack of concern and sense of responsibility for their actions. The approach used by the Yes Men is to shock their audiences, but sometimes people don’t even realize that what they are doing is phony. This just shows that people have too much trust in large corporations like Exxon that they will believe whatever the representatives say. The film does not present much truthful scientific data because they are trying to report ridiculous things to get peoples’ attention. The film has emotional appeal when the Yes Men act as Exxon representatives and hand out candles to the audience made from climate change victims as a new source of biofuel. There is also emotional appeal when the Yes Men visit Bhopal and talk to the people affected by the chemical disaster.
What sustainability problems does the film draw out? Political? Legal? Economic? Technological? Media and Informational? Organizational? Educational? Behavioral? Cultural? Ecological?
The film draws out mostly media and informational sustainability problems and also touches on legal and educational problems. The Yes Men use media to get their message out to the public and demonstrate that people shouldn’t always believe what they see on the news or TV. Legal problems can be seen when the film reveals that Dow Chemical caused devastation in Bhopal and has never had to face serious consequences for their actions. This suggests that the way corporations are treated in our legal system needs to be changed so they have to be held more accountable. It is an educational sustainability problem that more people in our society don’t know about the social, environmental, and health problems that surround us. We need to start educating people with the truth about the impacts that large corporations like Dow Chemical and Exxon Mobile have on our lives.
What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?
The part of the film that I found most compelling was the segment where Bichlbaum and Bonanno pose as Haliburton representatives and propose a ridiculous solution for the potential dangers of global warming. The Yes Men make a presentation at a conference and suggest that a new product called the SurvivaBall will protect corporate managers from any threat, including the ‘world destroying’ disasters due to global warming. These inflatable suits looked hilarious and yet the audience took them very seriously and someone asked how the SurvivaBall would fare against terrorism. This event was actually not very successful because no one even figured out that the presentation was phony. This clearly demonstrated the point that people have given too much control to the market and large companies and will trust anything they say. We need people to think realistically and return to simple solutions when trying to combat sustainability problems.
What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by? Why?
I was not entirely convinced about the effectiveness of the methods that the Yes Men use. I can see how it could be helpful, but their actions could also be perceived as just a pointless prank to some people or people might be off-put and not pay attention to the important issue at hand. Overall, I do not think they are hurting anyone by their actions, but I don’t think everyone will easily understand their message.
What audiences does the film best address? Why?
This film best addresses people who are already aware of the sustainability problems associated with industries like oil and chemicals. People who are not educated on the issues may not understand the point of what the Yes Men are doing. They are so good at pretending and being serious that you have to remind yourself that the whole thing is a stunt.
What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?
I think if this film provided more discussion about the issues before the Yes Men performed their stunts it would have enhanced the environmental educational value. More scientific data and background information would have made their arguments more effective.
What kinds of action and points of intervention are suggested by the film? If the film itself does not suggest corrective action, describe actions that you can imagine being effective.
This film suggests that action needs to be taken to change the system. The Yes Men encourage viewers to make policy change by talking to lawmakers, becoming a lawmaker, or causing a raucous about an issue to persuade lawmakers. They also suggest joining current projects or creating your own projects to get out messages about sustainability.
What additional information has the film compelled you to seek out? (Provide at least two supporting references.)
The Yes Men Fix the World compelled me to look up what the Yes Men’s most recent stunt was. I found that in September of this year the Yes Men helped facilitate a project called “Phone Story”. For this project an iPhone app was developed that contained a mini-game depicting all of the different problems that are a part of the consumer electronics supply chain, a.k.a. all the harm done by making a smartphone like the iPhone. The app was actually sold in the iPhone store for a few hours, but then withdrawn by Apple a few hours later, so the designers switched the game to Android. Revenues from the app go towards supporting organizations that are working to reduce the impacts of smartphones. This clever scheme helped increase awareness in smartphone users about the processes involved in making such technology and caught media attention as well. http://yeslab.org/project/phone-story
This film also compelled me look up more information on the Yes Men themselves and find out who they really are. Andy Bichlbaum’s real name is Jacques Servin and he is from Tuscan, Arizona. He has worked many jobs, including computer programming, with which he hacked into the code of SimCopter. Servin has written a few fiction books and now teaches as an Assistant Professor of Communication, Design, and Technology in the School of Arts, Media, and Technology at Parsons, The New School for Design in NYC. Mike Bonanno’s real name is Igor Vamos and he grew up in Portland, Oregon, but now lives in Troy, NY. He has played pranks throughout his life including switching the voice boxes of G.I. Joes and Barbie dolls in stores. He now works as an Associate Professor of Media Art at RPI. http://www.eviltwinbooking.org/events.cfm?view=speakers&artist_id=11
Annotation #10
Words: 1,335
Title: The Yes Men Fix the World
Director: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, and Kurt Engfehr
Release year: 2009
What is the central argument or narrative of the film?
The narrative of this film is about how directors Bichlbaum and Bonanno use humor to get out information about important problems in our society. They call themselves the Yes Men and they do things like pose as head executives of corporations that they hate and try to launch absurd products or make false headlines that put companies in a difficult situation. They go so far as to create fake websites and credentials with their personas to make people believe they are legitimate. Bichlbaum and Bonanno want to tell the truth and expose lies. These bold actions bring attention to issues that people don’t often hear about in the news. However, their methods are considered by some to be deceitful and extreme. In this film the Yes Men address issues including chemical spills, the need for alternative fuels, and how absurd some corporate proposals can be.
How is the argument or narrative made and sustained? How much scientific information is provided, for example? Does the film have emotional appeal?
The narrative of this film is made by following the Yes Men as they seek out opportunities to give presentations or be interviewed as false representatives of large companies. Bichlbaum poses as a spokesperson for Dow Chemical and does an interview in which he states that the company accepts full responsibility for the Bhopal disaster. Dow had a few choice words for him, but the company had to come forward and deny these optimistic claims, which emphasized their lack of concern and sense of responsibility for their actions. The approach used by the Yes Men is to shock their audiences, but sometimes people don’t even realize that what they are doing is phony. This just shows that people have too much trust in large corporations like Exxon that they will believe whatever the representatives say. The film does not present much truthful scientific data because they are trying to report ridiculous things to get peoples’ attention. The film has emotional appeal when the Yes Men act as Exxon representatives and hand out candles to the audience made from climate change victims as a new source of biofuel. There is also emotional appeal when the Yes Men visit Bhopal and talk to the people affected by the chemical disaster.
What sustainability problems does the film draw out? Political? Legal? Economic? Technological? Media and Informational? Organizational? Educational? Behavioral? Cultural? Ecological?
The film draws out mostly media and informational sustainability problems and also touches on legal and educational problems. The Yes Men use media to get their message out to the public and demonstrate that people shouldn’t always believe what they see on the news or TV. Legal problems can be seen when the film reveals that Dow Chemical caused devastation in Bhopal and has never had to face serious consequences for their actions. This suggests that the way corporations are treated in our legal system needs to be changed so they have to be held more accountable. It is an educational sustainability problem that more people in our society don’t know about the social, environmental, and health problems that surround us. We need to start educating people with the truth about the impacts that large corporations like Dow Chemical and Exxon Mobile have on our lives.
What parts of the film did you find most persuasive and compelling? Why?
The part of the film that I found most compelling was the segment where Bichlbaum and Bonanno pose as Haliburton representatives and propose a ridiculous solution for the potential dangers of global warming. The Yes Men make a presentation at a conference and suggest that a new product called the SurvivaBall will protect corporate managers from any threat, including the ‘world destroying’ disasters due to global warming. These inflatable suits looked hilarious and yet the audience took them very seriously and someone asked how the SurvivaBall would fare against terrorism. This event was actually not very successful because no one even figured out that the presentation was phony. This clearly demonstrated the point that people have given too much control to the market and large companies and will trust anything they say. We need people to think realistically and return to simple solutions when trying to combat sustainability problems.
What parts of the film were you not compelled or convinced by? Why?
I was not entirely convinced about the effectiveness of the methods that the Yes Men use. I can see how it could be helpful, but their actions could also be perceived as just a pointless prank to some people or people might be off-put and not pay attention to the important issue at hand. Overall, I do not think they are hurting anyone by their actions, but I don’t think everyone will easily understand their message.
What audiences does the film best address? Why?
This film best addresses people who are already aware of the sustainability problems associated with industries like oil and chemicals. People who are not educated on the issues may not understand the point of what the Yes Men are doing. They are so good at pretending and being serious that you have to remind yourself that the whole thing is a stunt.
What could have been added to this film to enhance its environmental educational value?
I think if this film provided more discussion about the issues before the Yes Men performed their stunts it would have enhanced the environmental educational value. More scientific data and background information would have made their arguments more effective.
What kinds of action and points of intervention are suggested by the film? If the film itself does not suggest corrective action, describe actions that you can imagine being effective.
This film suggests that action needs to be taken to change the system. The Yes Men encourage viewers to make policy change by talking to lawmakers, becoming a lawmaker, or causing a raucous about an issue to persuade lawmakers. They also suggest joining current projects or creating your own projects to get out messages about sustainability.
What additional information has the film compelled you to seek out? (Provide at least two supporting references.)
The Yes Men Fix the World compelled me to look up what the Yes Men’s most recent stunt was. I found that in September of this year the Yes Men helped facilitate a project called “Phone Story”. For this project an iPhone app was developed that contained a mini-game depicting all of the different problems that are a part of the consumer electronics supply chain, a.k.a. all the harm done by making a smartphone like the iPhone. The app was actually sold in the iPhone store for a few hours, but then withdrawn by Apple a few hours later, so the designers switched the game to Android. Revenues from the app go towards supporting organizations that are working to reduce the impacts of smartphones. This clever scheme helped increase awareness in smartphone users about the processes involved in making such technology and caught media attention as well.
http://yeslab.org/project/phone-story
This film also compelled me look up more information on the Yes Men themselves and find out who they really are. Andy Bichlbaum’s real name is Jacques Servin and he is from Tuscan, Arizona. He has worked many jobs, including computer programming, with which he hacked into the code of SimCopter. Servin has written a few fiction books and now teaches as an Assistant Professor of Communication, Design, and Technology in the School of Arts, Media, and Technology at Parsons, The New School for Design in NYC. Mike Bonanno’s real name is Igor Vamos and he grew up in Portland, Oregon, but now lives in Troy, NY. He has played pranks throughout his life including switching the voice boxes of G.I. Joes and Barbie dolls in stores. He now works as an Associate Professor of Media Art at RPI.
http://www.eviltwinbooking.org/events.cfm?view=speakers&artist_id=11